A Supplemental Claim is the review lane you use when you have evidence VA did not have when it decided the claim, or when a change in law such as the PACT Act now covers the condition. The evidence has a legal name. It must be new and relevant. That is not the old phrase “new and material.” The statute was rewritten. Using the old test, or filing a Supplemental Claim with the same records already in the file, is how VA issues a decision that there was not enough evidence to readjudicate.

This post quotes the current statute and regulation, shows what counts, and names the mistake that wastes the lane. The form is VA Form 20-0995, Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim. It is based on 38 U.S.C. § 5108, 38 C.F.R. § 3.2501, and VA's Supplemental Claim page re-opened on August 27, 2026. No grant is promised.

The official rule, in the statute and the regulation

38 U.S.C. § 5108(a) now reads: if new and relevant evidence is presented or secured with respect to a supplemental claim, the Secretary shall readjudicate the claim taking into consideration all of the evidence of record. Before the Appeals Modernization Act, the same section used “new and material evidence” and spoke of reopening a disallowed claim. Congress replaced that language. The construction note to the 2017 amendment says the new section shall not be construed to impose a higher evidentiary threshold than the old new-and-material standard. The words still changed. Do not write “new and material” on a 20-0995 or in a brief that is supposed to apply the current law.

38 C.F.R. § 3.2501 is the regulation that implements that statute. A claimant who disagrees with a prior VA decision may file a supplemental claim on the form VA prescribes, at any time after the agency of original jurisdiction issues notice of a decision, whether the claim is still pending or has become final. If new and relevant evidence is presented or secured, VA will readjudicate the claim on the entire record. If it is not presented or secured, VA will issue a decision finding that there was insufficient evidence to readjudicate the claim.

The regulation defines the two words. New evidence is evidence not previously part of the actual record before agency adjudicators. Relevant evidence is information that tends to prove or disprove a matter at issue in a claim. Relevant evidence includes evidence that raises a theory of entitlement that was not previously addressed. The new-and-relevant standard, the regulation says, will not impose a higher evidentiary threshold than the previous new-and-material standard under § 3.156(a).

VA's own Supplemental Claim page, last updated August 4, 2026, says the same thing in shorter sentences. New evidence is information VA has not considered before. Relevant evidence is information that proves or disproves something in your claim. Unless the Supplemental Claim is based on a change in law, you need supporting evidence that is new and relevant for the application to be complete. You can also identify evidence you want VA to gather.

What actually counts as new and relevant

New is about the file, not about the calendar. A 2018 MRI that was never submitted is new in 2026 if it was not in the record before the adjudicators. A 2026 clinic note that repeats the same sentence already in the 2022 denial is dated this year and is not new in any useful sense if that sentence was already of record. “Not previously part of the actual record” is the test in § 3.2501(a)(1).

Relevant is about a fact in dispute. If VA denied because there was no current diagnosis, a new examination that diagnoses the condition tends to prove a matter at issue. If VA denied because there was no in-service event, a buddy statement that describes the event tends to prove a matter at issue. If VA denied because there was no medical link, a reasoned medical opinion that explains the link tends to prove a matter at issue. If VA already had that opinion and rejected it, sending the same opinion again does not become relevant by reprinting it.

VA's page gives two examples. First: VA denied a mental-health claim. You now have a medical report stating that your service-connected injury led to the mental-health condition. That report is new and relevant. Second: VA denied a back-pain claim. A fellow service member who witnessed the incident writes a letter that describes what happened and how the condition has affected you. That buddy statement is new and relevant.

Other examples that fit the regulation, without pretending they guarantee a grant:

New medical records from a VA or private clinician that were not in the file, including imaging, a sleep study, or mental-health treatment notes that show a current diagnosis or worse function.

A private medical opinion that was not of record, that names the diagnosis, the service event or the already-service-connected condition, and a reasoned likelihood. This firm does not sell those opinions and does not pay for them. If you obtain one, it is your cost.

Buddy or lay statements on VA Form 21-10210 that describe facts the writers saw, if those statements were not previously in the record.

An updated diagnosis that changes the theory — for example, a claim denied for “back pain” that now has a diagnosis of lumbar radiculopathy, or a denied respiratory claim that now has a PACT Act-listed illness.

VA treatment records you identify. Section 3.2501 says VA will consider any VA treatment records reasonably identified by the claimant, and any evidence received after the last decision while the record was closed. You still need to name the facility and the dates. “Please get my VA records” without a location is how the duty to assist stalls.

Change in law is a different door on the same form

You can file a Supplemental Claim without new medical evidence if you are requesting review based on a change in law, such as the PACT Act. VA's page lists that as a separate way to complete the application. For those claims you still submit or identify medical evidence of the diagnosis and severity, and military records that show you meet the service requirements for the presumption. The “new and relevant” packet is not the same as the change-in-law packet. Do not skip the diagnosis because the law changed. The law changed the link. It did not invent a condition you do not have.

If the condition is now presumptive and VA denied it before the change, the Supplemental Claim is the path VA names. Waiting for VA to call you is optional. VA says it may try to contact you. You do not have to wait.

What a Supplemental Claim is not

It is not a claim for increase. VA's page says that directly. If you already have a rating and the condition has gotten worse, file a claim for increased disability compensation, not a 20-0995. A Supplemental Claim is for a decision you disagree with, or for a newly presumptive condition, when you have new and relevant evidence or a change in law.

It is not a Higher-Level Review. HLR does not take new evidence. If the error is in how VA read the old file, HLR is the lane. If the file was missing a study, an opinion, or a witness, Supplemental is the lane. Filing the wrong form does not convert one into the other.

It is not a way to reopen with the same pages. If new and relevant evidence is not presented or secured, § 3.2501 says VA will find there was insufficient evidence to readjudicate. That decision is a loss of time. It can also affect the effective date. Under 38 U.S.C. § 5110(a)(2), a Supplemental Claim filed within one year of the decision can keep the original effective date if you continuously pursue the claim. A Supplemental Claim filed more than a year later generally takes a new date of receipt under § 5110(a)(3). Filing a hollow 20-0995 just to “do something” can burn the year without adding evidence.

How to file and what happens next

For disability compensation you can file the Supplemental Claim online, or on paper VA Form 20-0995. Mail compensation forms to the Claims Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547. If you want VA to request private records, complete VA Form 21-4142 with the provider name, address, dates, and condition. VA's duty to assist applies to a substantially complete Supplemental Claim. 38 U.S.C. § 5108(b) says that assistance in obtaining records you reasonably identify is not predicated on a finding that new and relevant evidence has already been presented.

You do not need to do anything after you file unless VA asks for more information. Go to any exam VA schedules. Missing that exam is the same problem it is on an original claim. On the page re-opened August 27, 2026, VA published 58.8 days as the average time to complete a Supplemental Claim for disability compensation or pension in July 2026. The same page states a goal of 125 days for Supplemental Claims that are not related to health care. Those are an average and a goal. They are not a deadline for your file.

If you disagree with the Supplemental Claim decision, you can request a Higher-Level Review, request a Board Appeal, or file another Supplemental Claim if you have more new and relevant evidence.

The practical mistake that costs the readjudication

The common error is filing the 20-0995 with a cover letter that argues the old decision and attaches the same service treatment records VA already listed in the denial. Argument is not evidence. The old records are not new. VA then finds insufficient evidence to readjudicate, and a year of continuous pursuit may be gone.

The other error is sitting on a new MRI, a new diagnosis, or a buddy you finally reached, while you wait for a Higher-Level Review that cannot accept those pages. New and relevant evidence belongs on a Supplemental Claim. Put the pages in the lane that can read them.

Completing a website form is not representation. This firm does not take a credit card from VA clients and does not pay client costs, including nexus letters.

What to do before you file the 20-0995

Read the denial. Write down the exact reason: no current diagnosis, no service event, no nexus, or a rating you think is too low on a granted condition (that last one may be an increase or a different lane). Gather one piece of evidence that was not in the file and that answers that reason. Identify any VA clinic that treated you, with dates. Then file. If you have no new page and no change in law, a Supplemental Claim is the wrong lane.

Disclaimer

This post is general information about veterans disability claims, appeals, and VA benefits. It is not legal advice, not a representation that The Jacks Law Group is your counsel, and not a prediction of any rating, grant, denial, effective date, or payment. No result is promised. Reading this post, starting a VA.gov form, or completing the firm's website form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws, regulations, and VA procedures change. The sources below were re-opened on August 27, 2026, and should be re-checked before they are relied on.

Retain this firm

If you have a VA disability claim to file, a claim that is stuck, or a decision you intend to review, The Jacks Law Group represents veterans in disability claims and appeals. Call 702-834-6300. Completing a website form is not representation.

The Jacks Law Group
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Henderson, NV 89014
702-834-6300
https://www.TheJacksLawGroup.com

Sources (re-opened August 27, 2026)

38 U.S.C. § 5108, Supplemental claims, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/38/5108 — new and relevant evidence requires readjudication; duty to assist on identified records; 2017 AMA replacement of “new and material.”

38 C.F.R. § 3.2501, Supplemental claims, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/3.2501 — definitions of new and relevant; insufficient-evidence decision if the standard is not met; VA treatment records reasonably identified; duty to assist; date of filing.

VA, Supplemental Claims, https://www.va.gov/decision-reviews/supplemental-claim/ — last updated August 4, 2026. New = not considered before; relevant = proves or disproves; change-in-law path; VA examples (medical report; buddy statement); Form 20-0995; not for increases; July 2026 average 58.8 days; 125-day goal.

VA, Evidence needed for your disability claim, https://www.va.gov/disability/how-to-file-claim/evidence-needed/ — last updated June 8, 2026. Supplemental Claim evidence definitions; change-in-law diagnosis and service-requirement evidence.

VA, Choosing a decision review option, https://www.va.gov/resources/choosing-a-decision-review-option/ — last updated April 19, 2024. Supplemental Claim when you have new evidence; 125-day goal.

38 U.S.C. § 5110, Effective dates of awards, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/38/5110 — continuous pursuit within one year; later supplemental claims take date of receipt.